I picked this game up at the recommendation of a listener to the show. I'm so glad I did. The game rules are simple enough and very easy to understand. What I really like about the system is that, there are additional layers of complexity you can add on. If you want, I really don't see why you can't play with the basic rules. You'll still have a great game with full characters and some amazing times. That extra layer of complexity really gets me fired up to give this game a whirl.

One of the things I'm most impressed with is the House creation. All the details that are created by the group, all the points spent collaboratively to create an entity that will impact all the PCs is just wonderful. And the fact that the players can spend earned resources later in the game to make it even better just turns on all sorts of lights in my head. So many ideas and I don't know where to start!

Another thing I really love about the way this book is organized is that it provides numbered steps for combat, war, intrigue and pretty much anything you need or want to do in the game. The numbered steps really make it easy to step through the action while you're learning, so you can make sure you're doing things according to the rules. I imagine that, once you've got the rules down, you don't have to worry about the numbered steps and everything just happens the way it's supposed to.

The book is very well laid out and very attractive. The art is generally good and really adds to the text. I think the pieces are well placed and really evoke the feel the designers are going for in the sections of the book where they are added.

This game is not a simple fantasy game. You can use the rules to run a typical dungeon crawl, but I don't see why you would. With rules for Intrigue and with everyone having a House as backdrop for their character, there is so much potential for conflict and stories just by creating a character. I'm very excited to give this game a try. It's a little more crunchy than I typically enjoy, but the possibilities are extremely interesting!